Becky's Homestead 11: Kerosene Heater

[GTRPLR01]

i bought some kerosene from a gas station pump that said keronene, and it was red in color, is it safe to use it? i know i need k-1 kerosene, i just thout that is what i would get from the pump

[jerkbeast81]

I had a heater exactly like that....until it caught on fire one day. Good thing I was home, or the home would have been ashes when I got back.

[plojka1]

@jerkbeast81 Are you sure there was kerosene in it and not something else like gasoline? That is highly unusual for a kerosene heater. 

[jerkbeast81]

@plojka1 well my brother was staying with us at the time, and he's kind of an idiot, and we kept the camp gas, near the kerosene so it's possible he put that in, but I'm not sure.

[plojka1]

@jerkbeast81 LOL. That is too funny. He probably put gasoline in the thing! A kerosene heater just can't catch on fire like that. It's almost impossible. It's like saying a wax candle is going to catch on fire by just lighting the wick. Well, I hope no one got hurt.

[mrneal03]

God look at that rack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CBIKAS]

Wow. That was really useful. Thanks Becky!

[DemonicDemolition]

You inspired me to buy my first kerosene heater. I thought of a trick though. I have placed a couple of bricks on top of heater while burning. This way when I turn off heater, the bricks will hold on to the heat longer giving out a little bit more after heater is shut down. Works great.

[dmiller531]

I bought the same one at goodwill brand new for 60 bucks it came with an extra wic and ingniter

[SimonKentSmith]

Electric heat is actually 99% efficient.. You can't get any more efficient..

[Moonteeth62]

@SimonKentSmith sort of, if you want to split hairs, you have to take the efficiency of the entire system that you are supporting by using electric heat. Here in the US, that usually means burning coal to boil water, to turn a steam turbine, to generate electricity, which is sent down wires that lose at least10+% of the energy to wire resistance, to then go to the heater that THEN converts the energy BACK into heat for the house. NOT 99% efficient at all.

[aerospaceace10]

The kerosene burning smell is horrible unfortunately , it gives me headaches

[drbogo321]

@aerospace ace 10 Essential oil(used to scent candles) added to the kerosene will kill most, if not all of the odor. Also, remember to allow the heater to completely burn out! This cleans the wick allowing for less smell. However, this process smells just awful. Place your heater outside.

[simbalage22]

Bottom line, I had no furnace (it was stolden by scrappers) and the fireplace was too much hastle for a disabled person. Keep a window cracked, a c/o detector, and above all be prepared for slight smell. They sell a vanilla fragrance you can add to karo so it doesnt have a harsh smell.... with 2 kids, a 2 year old and 4 yr old worked wonders keeping us safe, and warm! Does get costly... but works quite well

[yoheath66]

do those have a fan in them I always wanted to know

[Jollyprez]

Kerosene heaters are fabulous. I adopted them last year as an emergency option, and ended up using them for primary heat in the basement during New England winters.

Kerosene is *very* safe to store, as it's not very explosive. As a matter of fact, if you throw a match into a puddle of kerosene - the match will go out.

The cost of kerosene is such ( in 2010 ), that it is cheaper per BTU, than just about anything, rivaling our pellet stove.

[mysciencenow]

hire me becky

[westkan]

I have a heater like that. Heats well, but the odor remind you that U R using Kero.. While they are pricey a good old fashion gas burning vented console heater is still a good option. You may have to use propane. I wouldn't know how the cost of Kero. Vs Propane would work out, but U would have to assign a value to the safety of a vented heater.

[dinnycash]

did you guys ever put in a wood burning stove

[eielson1978]

Great Information! People need to realize that they need to Get Involved when using a heater like this. You can download User manuals and learn about them before a purchase. I have 4 different heaters and a 1 burner cook stove. Properly maintained heaters produce very little or no odor when lit, but you do need to maintain, clean, and replace the wick as required seasonally. You can't just run them until they quit working like some people treat their car. Only Intellegent people should own.

[skatav8]

Smell? You have to light it and turn it off outside to prevent the smell in the house. The fueling is a pain at the pump and again at the heater. We also have to run it at WOT or it will smell, but we've never serviced the wick either (think years).

It's good for a back up when there's no power (rarely), or for homes that are drafty. I couldn't deal with it on a daily basis anymore. But it's WARM when we do use it!

[blue03r6]

in my opinion, you're better off leaving a car run in your living room.  they polute less.

[blue03r6]

who cares that they are economical if you need to leave windows open to use them.

they are toxic and smell really bad.

I don't know how people say they can't smell these things.

I bought one based on reviews saying they don't smell.

well, they do. and do a lot.  I took it to a dealer repair shop to see if it was working properly and they said it is. and that's about what you can expect from this kind of heater.

I guess the people how can't smell them are smokers....

[hoth260]

@blue03r6 that's funny, ive been using a kerosene heater for 10 years, and never have to open a window , i have a carbon monoxide detector and smoke alarms and neither have ever been activated due to kero heater.

[cbsctomh]

How do you vent the fumes from the burned Kerosene?

[FunnyDuckGoneMad]

Hello Becky please show how to start the heater and getting going too, this is why I was looking for; you stated the obvious and please don't get upset with me. I will ck later to see if you got this.

[tfrye724]

Kerosene Heaters are economical, here's the math:

You can run a 10,000BTU/HR Radiant kerosene heater for a good 12 hours on a gallon of kero. At $3/gallon, it costs you 25cents per hour to run the heater.

A 1500 watt ceramic space heater puts out 5121 BTU. At 12 cents per kW/hr (avg for the US), the ceramic space heater is costing you 18 cents per hour to run.

To get 10,000BTU using electric heaters, it would be costing you 35 cents an hour, as opposed to the 25 cents it costs with kerosene.

[fmjiceman]

fried

[Christopher711]

I have slept with a 1500 BTU propane heater on. I use the Sportcat heater,

[ArtWithRob]

kerosene does work great, but it doesn't save you money on your electric, it cost just as much or more to use kerosene. Kerosene cost about $3 dollars a gallon, and it takes about 4-5 gallons a day to heat your house. That's $150 a month.

[windbeamproductions]

really neat vid. And thanks for reminding me that we need a kerosene heater because while I have found in the past that the fuel is expensive, we just sat through a short power outage earlier today knowing that despite the fact that our heater runs on natural gas, we were cold due to the fact that the thermostat is electric. Kerosene heaters are great for emergencies.

[scotdouglas]

mmmmm.....boobies.

[english8687]

i liked the video, only problem i have is that my friend just gave me one, and i cant figure out how to turn this dam thing on, haha

[ArtWithRob]

it should have an electric start, which is what the batteries are for. If not just turn the wick all the way up, open the little door on the side,lift the metal thing with the handle, and use a long match to directly light the wick, it slowly lights, so you don't have to worry about it blowing up like propane does.

[drsnk]

Just as an experiment I got the dh2304 out, a 23,000 btu heater like the one you have here. It was -20 zero outside with -40 wind chill. The heater did fine considering the conditions.

[Christopher711]

Becky , is it safe to sleep with the heater on?

[kentuckyboi777]

The manufactuer of the kerosene heater I have says never to leave your heater on over night.

[plojka1]

@kentuckyboi777 That's just legal disclaimer. Last time I checked, though they don't have a sensor on them that tells the machine to blow up as soon as the night comes!! :-)

[ArtWithRob]

yes I heat my house completely with the heater in this video, as long as your causes, it's very safe. But expensive......

[TangoTracker223]

what is "causes"?

Did you mean cautious?!

[mydeardiaries]

SI---CAUTIOUS--Do you live in a cabin?

[truthislove911]

Hi Becky, I just wanted to say how impressed I am by your vids. So natural and down to earth, and also very imformative too. I do have to say I sort of agree with NoirMusic about the solor heating bit...but most people like myself can't afford solar just yet and this really is probably the next best thing for a fraction of the cost! your presentation and appeal to your viewers really stands out. Keep up the great work!Thank you again for sharing your video insights.

[sedative3145]

How much does kerosene cost?

[ArtWithRob]

$3 a gallon, and it takes about 4-5 gallons a day to heat a small house. It adds up to about $150-200 a month. Not any cheaper then electric but if it's all you got.........

[dionysusstar]

Pollan has some other books out that are supposed to be really good too. I don't know if I am sold on the kerosene though...it doesn't seem very self sufficient, although it may be a good option to use while trying to get something better in place. Thanks for posting.